The present invention is directed generally to a construction vehicle such as a skid steer vehicle or a compact track-type vehicle or loader and, more particularly, to a tilting foot pod for the operator cab of a such a vehicle which facilitates cleaning and servicing of the foot pod.
Early construction vehicles, such as a skid loaders, were designed with an exposed operator cab that enabled the operator to easily enter and exit the operator cab as well as communicate with ground workers during loading, moving, excavating or other operations. Increasingly, skid steer vehicles with enclosed operator cabs were developed. The enclosed operator cabs provided a number of advantages over conventional open operator cabs, including climate control, noise control and safety.
Enclosed operator cabs are generally equipped with a front door to permit the ingress to and the egress from the operator cab. While convenient for entering or exiting the operator cab, such a configuration does not permit much room to clean the operator cab or perform maintenance on the various controls that are located in the operator cab. A skid steer vehicle is commonly used in highly dirty or dusty environments so it is not uncommon for the operator cab to eventually become soiled with dirt, dust and grime. As a result, new operator cab designs have been proposed to make accessing the interior of operator cab for cleaning or maintenance purposes less cumbersome.
For example, U.S. Publ. No. 2007/0145779 describes a machine cab having a cab frame and toe guard extending forward of the cab frame. The machine cab is designed to pivot about a rearward axis to permit access to various components that are generally inaccessible when the machine cab is in the working position. The base of the cab frame remains stationary as the cab frame is titled rearward. Thus, to clean the base, or foot area, or perform any maintenance on any controls that are mounted to or around the foot area, it is necessary to climb into the cab to access the foot are, which may be difficult. Moreover, the range of motion of the cab frame may limit the amount of clearance available.
Others, such as Albright et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,731 and Muraro in U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,563, have also described pivoting operator cabs for skid steer vehicles. These patents describe operator cabs having recessed areas specifically designed to receive the feet of an operator when the operator is seated in the operator cab. The recessed areas are fastened to the operator cabs so as to pivot therewith. These pivoting operator cabs therefore provide access to components of the skid steer vehicle that are generally inaccessible when the operator cab is in a working position, but access to the interior of the operator cab, including the foot area, is not improved when the operator cab is tilted.
The present invention is directed to an operator cab for a skid steer vehicle having a separately tilting foot pod. The foot pod may be titled or pivoted forward thereby separately allowing ground access to the foot pod for cleaning or maintenance purposes. In operation, an upper frame portion of the operator cab is pivoted rearward to expose the foot pod. The foot pod may then be pivoted toward the front of the skid steer vehicle. In one representative embodiment, joystick controls may be supported by the foot pod and thus pivot with the foot pod. This allows ground access to the joystick controls for maintenance and other purposes when the upper portion of the operator cab has been pivoted rearward and the foot pod is in its forward titled position. Isolation mounts are preferably used to dampen any vibratory forces that may otherwise be transferred from the vehicle chassis to the foot pod. The operator cab frame may carry seals that seal the interior of the operator cab from dust and dirt. In one representative embodiment, the foot pod is made of fiberglass.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a separately pivotable foot pod for an operator cab of a construction vehicle.
It is yet another object of the invention to improve access to the interior of an operator cab for cleaning and maintenance purposes.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a foot pod for an operator cab that is isolated from vibrations from the chassis of the construction vehicle.
It is another object of the invention to provide ground access to operator controls mounted to the foot pod of an operator cab of a construction vehicle.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a construction vehicle that includes a pivotable operator cab and foot pod that are constructed and arranged to enable the interior of the cab to be sealed for climate control and pressurization.
Therefore, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a foot pod for use with an operator cab of a construction vehicle includes a frame adapted to be positioned on the chassis of the operator cab. A cavity is defined in the frame for receiving the feet of an operator when the operator is positioned within the operator cab. A mounting assembly couples the frame to the chassis in a manner that allows the frame to be titled upward and toward the front of the chassis.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an operator cab assembly for a construction vehicle includes an operator cab frame pivotably coupled to a rearward portion of the chassis. A foot pod is pivotably coupled to a forward portion of the chassis so that the foot pod may be pivoted about the forward portion of the chassis when the operator cab frame has been pivoted rearwardly about the rearward portion of the chassis.
According to another aspect, the present invention includes a construction vehicle having a chassis, and an operator cab mounted to the chassis and tiltable in a first direction away from the chassis. The skid steer vehicle is further equipped with a foot pod mounted to the chassis and tiltable in a second direction, opposite the first direction, away from the chassis. The foot pod is configured to rest beneath the operator cab when the operator cab and the foot pod are in non-tilted working positions.
In accordance with yet a further aspect of the invention, a method of cleaning the foot pod of an operator cab of a construction vehicle is proposed. The method includes rearwardly tilting the operator cab relative to a chassis of the vehicle and then forwardly tilting the foot pod relative to the chassis. The foot pod has a cavity into which the feet of an operator may extend during normal operation of the vehicle. The method involves removing any unwanted material from the cavity when the foot pod is in a forward tilted position.
Various other features and advantages of the present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings.